Oil filter



Apr., 3, 1923.A

G. E. PUTNAM Filed Jari. 25, 1921 Patented 3, i923.

GEORGE E. PUTNAM, 0F EAST KANSAS CITY, MSSOUR-I.

OIL FELTER.

Application filed January 25, 1921.

if 10 all fw :tom t may concern:

Be it known that l, Grenen PUTNAM, a citizen ot the United States, residing at `i'ansas City,` in the county ot Clay and titate ot Missouri, hare invented a certain new and useful improvement in @il Filters, et which the following is full, clear, and exactdescription,

The Aobject or the invention is to provide a combined oil washing and iiltering device tor removing the line particles or" carbon and other Voreign matter from used automobile engine oil, and oit such simple construction and of so few parts as to be capable of economical manufacture, of great durability and of easy access tor the purpose ot cleaning.

The invention consists ot a receiving tank centrally located over a washing and tiltering tank and connected thereto by a supply pipe through which the used oil flows by gravity from said receiving tank to the bottom ot a washing compartment in the lower part of the main tank, thence rising through a washing medium in which the flow of the oil is retarded by a `series of intercepting plates to a filter partition in said main tank, through which partition said oil is forced into a clean oil storage compartment in the top of said main tank, as will now proceed to explain and finally claim.

vln the accompanying drawing illust-rating this invention, in the several gures or' which like parts are similarly designated:

Fig. lis an elevation in cross section oit' the device.

F ig. 2 is a cross section of the means provided for compressing the filtering material.

Fig. 3 is a plan showing one ot the series of intercepting plates indentical with each other, centrally perforated to slipl over the supply pipeand with one or more perforations to provide for the passage ot oil `trom one plate to another.

Fig. 4 is across section ot said intercepting plate, and

Fig. 5 is an elevation in cross section ot the complete assembly 01: parts removed trom the container. 1

ln Fig. l, a receiving tank l is supported on a supplypipe 2 by a threaded connection 3. Said supply pipe V extends down through the center of a main tank'4 and is supported on the base otsaid main 'tank by means of a yoke 5 fixed to said base,` into which yoke said supply pipe is held by a threaded con- Serial No. 439,825.

necticn 6. i4 perforated intercepting plate T is shown welded to the lower' end ot' said supply pipe above the threaded connection G and a series ot similar plates are welded to said supply pipe at equi-distant points, as shown, said series of plates being so arranged that none ot' the perforations T in adjacent plates coincide vertically with each other. A downturned edge 8 is provided on each plate to hold for an appreciable length ot time a quantity of oil within the limits ot said plate during the upward passage ot said oil through the washing medium.

il perforated compression plate 9 is shown welded to said supply pipe and a series renewable ilter pads 10, 10b, 10c and 10d, each pad consisting ot a layer ot' short fiber cotton' between two disks ot cloth 11a and 11b, and centrally perforated, placed thereon and a second perforated compression plate 12, having a central hole ot' a size to loosely lit over said supply pipe, is placed on the top ot said tilter pads.

A threaded sleeve 13 is removably iiXed to said supply pipe by means of a thumb screw 14 and a compression nut l5 is provided to work in conjunction with said sleeve by which means pressure may be applied to the top compression plate 12, thereby compressing said ilter pads and forcing the iiltering material laterally into the grooves 16EL and 16b which are iorined to extend around the sides of the main tank 4 and also into the grooves 17a and 17h, which are cut around the surface of the supply pipe 2, forming thereby a firmly anchored mass ot filtering material and providing specific means ttor preventing any unfiltered oil from creeping along the vertical edges of the lter partition and leaking from the washing compartment 18 into the clean oil storage compartment 19.

Said grooves lbfL and 16" are not ot sutlicient size to prevent `the easy removal of the complete assembly (Fig. from the main tank 4 after the thumb screw 14 has been released and the supply pipe 2 unscrewed from its supporting yoke 5.

il removable cover 2G for the receiving tank, a similar cover 21 slipping easily over the supply pipe 2 for the main tank 4, a faucet 22 :tor drawing off filtered oil, an air relier" cock 23, a thermometer 24, a gauge glass 25, a faucet 26 for drawing off the surplus water, and an electric heater 27 for which, however, an ordinary submerged steam heating coil or other means for heating the con tents of the device may be substituted, are shown at the points and for the purposes indicated.

To operate the device as an oil i'ilter, water is poured into the receiving tank from which it passes through the supply pipe into the washing,` compartment of the main tank, rising` therein until it reaches the bottom of the gauge glass. l-leat is then applied by means of an electrical connection to the heater.l or otherwise, and after the temperature as indicated by the thermometer reaches about lQl degrees Fahrenheit, the oil to be liltered is poured into said receiving' tank in small quantities at short intervals ot time, care beingused to see that the temperature is not materially lowered thereby. A certain amount et water beneath each of the intercepting plates will be displaced by oil and in consequence the water level rises slightly, becoming stationary at a point midway in the gauge glass. During this operation the air imprisoned between the surface of the water and the lilter partition slowly escapes, either through the filtering material or through the air relief cock, said cock usually being opened for this purpose, and said air is replaced by the oil rising' through the washing compartment until the entire space between said water and the filter partition is filled with said oil. Additional oil now poured into said receiving' tank forces washed oil through said filter partition with a pressure dependent upon the height of said oill in said receiving tank and said pressure may be maintained by further addition of used oil into said receivingtank, the liltered oil being' drawn from the clean oil storage compartment by means ot the faucet 22.

This operation may continue until the accumulation of foreign matter taken from the used oil becomes so `a'reat as to prevent the passage of oil through said iilter partition, at which time the entire assembly of parts (Fig. 5) may be removed, as herein after explained.

As previously stated the device is easily accessible for cleaning purposes for it is only necessary to detach the threaded sleeve 13 from the supply pipe 2, thereby releasing the pressure of the compression plate 12 against the filteringmaterial and relaxing,r the lateral pressure of said filtering material against the sides of the main tank 4l, in which condition said supply pipe maybe unscrewed from its supporting yoke 5 and the ent-ire assembly (Fig. 5) may be removed from said main tank, thus leaving no` inaccessible spaces or pockets in said main tank or in said assembly where dirt and foreign substances might remain unnoticed.

A convenient method for removingr said entire assembly from said main tank is to detach the threaded sleeve 13 :from the supply pipe and unscrew said supply pipe from its supporting yoke, and then fill the receiving` tank l. with water. rlhe pressure thus created is transmitted against the bottom area oi" the filtering` material and this upward pressure may be sufficient to force the entire assembly out of said main tank. Tue principle involved is that of a hydraulic press inasmuch as in the condition described the mass o'l' liltering material ctnresponds to a movable pist-on.

By the construct-ion described l produce a combined washing; and filtering device in which, during operation, the water level re mains constant and there is no danger et the water reachingand destroying' the fil tering` material.` ln the exceptional case of excess water being poured into the receiv! ing tank with the oil,such encesswater would be immediately shown in the gauge Adass 25 and could be drawn off by means of the faucet 26.

is here shown and explained the device is designed to reclaim used automobile en- ;i'ine oil by removing therefrom dirt and foreign substances which, beine; held in suspension in said oil, render said oil unfit for use, although as previously stated, the invention is applicable to other :fluids of ditferent structures and consistencies by providing; suitable washing and filteringmaterials, or by variation of the initial pressure against said filtering' material, or by cli-inging the density et said ltering material. l

lt is a consideration of importance that in the construction shown and described the oil is broken up and forced to pass through the water a predetermined number of times and that an oil filterlof convenient size may be constructed in which `the oil is broken up and washed at least seven times as shown, before it passes through the filtering material for its final cleaninmand that the entire process of washing); and filtering the oil is confined within a single main tank having' no permanent partitions.

As previously stated the interceptingr plates break up the oil into thin streams during the washing process and tests have shown this construction to be particularly advantageous by reason of the fact that a thin film of oil is constantly held underneath said intercepting' plates, due to the higher specific 1e'ravity ot the washing medium, and that said film of oil is constantly in motion. due to the'constant upward passage of oil from the supply pipe through the perforations in said intercepting plates in volume equal to. that volume constantly passing' through theY vfiltering`4 material; therefore. said interceptinga plates hold for an appreciable length of time a large amount of oil practically in water suspension, creating therebyT a condition which has been shown to' be particularly 'favorable for the precipitation of dirt and Jforeign pa-rti cles in the used oil.

it Will be understoody that variations in Constr' :tion are permissible Within the principle of the invention and that the invention is not limited to any speciic application thereof and the claim hereina'rter niade is to be understood accordingly.

lllhat l claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1in oil filter comprising a receiving; tank, a vertical supply tube Within the tank having: its inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom oin the tank, a filter bed carried by the tube and coextens'ive with the cross sectional area of the tank whereby, when the filter bed is expanded, its edges Will t tight against the inner Wall of the tank, the lter bed being positioned intermediate the ends of' the tank to divide the saine into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and a plurality of similar inverted, concaveconvex plates carried by the tube and located in the lower chamber, said plates being' spaced troni each other and from the Walls of the tank, each plate constituting an oil trap, the plates each having` an opening offset with respect to a complement-ary opening` in an adjacent plate.

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, l have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE E. PUTNAlll. 7""Vitnesses GRACE M. PUTNAM, THOMAS R. PUTNAM. 

